Baked sea bass with lemon & herbs (with Tarator sauce)

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Ruth Watson

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Recipe by Ruth Watson

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1. Preheat the oven to 230C/gas 8/fan210C. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper, inside and out. Rub the skin with oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay three-quarters of the lemon slices on a heavy baking sheet and place the fish on top (see tip). Stuff the belly with the remaining lemon, the garlic and plenty of herbs, then season.
2. Bake the fish for 30 minutes or until the flesh is opaque at its thickest part - slide a knife into the backbone area to heck.
3. To serve, first gently peel the skin back, then lift off a chunk of the back fillet and a chunk of the belly to make one serving: each side should yield 2 portions. Use any lemon slices that are nicely brown, rather than jet-black, as a garnish.
   
   FOR THE TARATOR SAUCE
   
4. Put the nuts in a food processor and whizz to a fine powder.Wet the bread, then squeeze out all the moisture. Crumble it into the nuts, add the garlic and whizz to combine thoroughly.
5. Add the lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a good grinding of pepper. Start pouring the olive oil in through the feeder tube, in a steady, fine trickle. Once the oil is incorporated, the sauce will be very smooth but rather solid, so add enough water (or stock) to let the sauce down to a thick, creamy consistency.
6. Finally, taste the sauce, adjust the seasoning and add a little more lemon juice if necessary.

The sauce

The sauce can be made up to 12 hours ahead. If you have to refrigerate it, bring the sauce to room temperature and whisk in more water or stock before serving as it will have thickened.

Per serving (for the fish only)

371 kcalories, protein 66g, carbohydrate 1g, fat 11 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 0g, salt 0.6 g

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Ingredients

• 1 whole sea bass , about 1.8kg/4lb, gutted and scaled
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large lemons , thinly sliced (peel and all)
• 3 garlic cloves , crushed flat
• a handful of fresh soft herbs, eg parsley , fennel, dill, tarragon, basil (either one single herb or a mixture)

FOR THE TARATOR SAUCE

• 50g blanched almonds
• 50g pine nuts
• 2 large, thin slices of white bread , crusts removed
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed and roughly chopped
• juice of ½ lemon , plus a squeeze
• 150ml extra-virgin olive oil
• about 2 tbsp or so fish stock or cold water

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

40-50 mins for the fish, 10-15 mins for the sauce

Low-fat

Ingredients

• 1 whole sea bass , about 1.8kg/4lb, gutted and scaled
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large lemons , thinly sliced (peel and all)
• 3 garlic cloves , crushed flat
• a handful of fresh soft herbs, eg parsley , fennel, dill, tarragon, basil (either one single herb or a mixture)

FOR THE TARATOR SAUCE

• 50g blanched almonds
• 50g pine nuts
• 2 large, thin slices of white bread , crusts removed
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed and roughly chopped
• juice of ½ lemon , plus a squeeze
• 150ml extra-virgin olive oil
• about 2 tbsp or so fish stock or cold water

Per serving (for the fish only)

371 kcalories, protein 66g, carbohydrate 1g, fat 11 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 0g, salt 0.6 g

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